The planned Christmas 2017 release date for Avatar 2 is now off the table for Twentieth Century Fox, according to the Wrap. This isn’t really a surprise, since James Cameron and Avatar have always had a long gestation period. Always.

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The studio didn’t comment on the delay to the Wrap, but “individuals with knowledge of the situation” confirmed it. The studio already had to push the Avatar sequel’s release date back from 2016 to 2017. When that happened, Fox chairman-CEO Jim Gianopulos said, “Jim Cameron has his own pace.” Which is very true.

What we still don’t know is how this affects the release dates of Avatars 3 and 4, which were supposed to come out in 2018 and 2019. And, while around the Christmas holiday was the target, Fox never actually set an official date for the opening. Which was a shame for people who love horse races and prognosticating on box office, since the delay of Star Wars Episode VIIImade it likely that Avatar and Star Wars would be coming out close to one another.

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Time will tell if the delay is by a few months or by a full year. There’s every chance we see a Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice/Captain America: Civil War situation where two big releases slated for the same time are moved. In which case, it might be a blessing that the film’s delayed. That way, it’s not the studio being afraid of Star Wars. But again, it’s probably just James Cameron being James Cameron